okay, peanut.

On my way home this afternoon, I was brainstorming. The topic? What I could cleverly display as my “What are you doing right now?” on social networking sites to announce the bubble … when the time comes. Here’s my train of thought!

“Mindy …

• is turning some into “ants.’”
• is making “ants” of some.”
• will be baking for the next __ weeks.”
• is baking something very special.”
• received a potent cocktail.”
• is growing a third.”
• can grow/make people.”
• is brewing a bubble.”
• grows/makes bubbles.”
• beat the odds.”
• was 1 in 10.”
• is working harder in her sleep than a marathon runner.”
• will show you in May what happens when you bake for 40 weeks.”
• ‘s new job is baking people.”
• ‘s new job is people-making.”
• has a new garden in which she grows tiny people.”
• agrees – you’re  never really ready.”
• has a new hobby: people-making.”
• is preparing for her new job.”
• will be hatching in the spring, but it won’t be a chicken.”
• prays it won’t break while at work.”
• will get to know her real limits in May.”
• is growing a tax-deduction.”
• & Justin’s new names will be palindromes.”
• has many sleepless nights ahead.”
• has a new hobby: nesting.”
• won’t need hobbies after May.”
• has a new photography subject on the way.”

Now, which to use!? Good thing there’s time to think about it!

In case you haven’t ever taken note or had the chance to see for yourself (Poor, poor you.), 7 vials of blood can result in tons of information.

Let me start by saying that the blood-suckers do not bother me. Don’t get me wrong – I wouldn’t want to visit any more than now and then, but it really never has gotten to me much. Thank goodness, because there’s certainly more to come in the next 29.5 weeks. On a similar note, don’t ask, but I’m seriously terrified of IVs, I’ve been avoiding my tetanus shot for years, and am totally fearful of this year’s first ever flu shot that’s soon to come – darn pregnancy during flu season. I’m a total baby when it comes to this stuff, but take all the blood you want. Stupid and irrational? Yeah, I know.

Okay … so I had the pleasure of completing my first of many “with bubble” trips to my local LabCorp a few Saturdays back. As is almost always the case, it was rather uneventful. (Exception: the time they took twenty-something vials thinking that I’d had a mini-stroke or some other sort of serious neurological, vascular, or cardiological issue. Yeah, that was kind of traumatic. When they don’t have enough stickers for all of your vials, RUN AWAY as fast as you can!) My two hours at the lab this time were terribly boring, but really nothing to gripe about. I didn’t even mind the drink for the glucose test! It was like orange soda without the carbonation and didn’t even have a bad after-taste!

Thankfully, the results are equally as uneventful. I don’t have any form of diabetes, including gestational (Thank the heavens, for now!). Yippee! I’m immune to rubella (Yay, no shot!), do not have HIV, have a good iron level, and my antibody screen was negative. All good! I also learned my blood type, which before today, I had not known. For the record, I’m type O+. Cool! There were other results as well, but everything was good, so she stopped while she was ahead. Poor gal!

We’re still waiting on the results of the cystic fibrosis carrier screen, which will be mailed. Out of curiosity (And the voice in the back of my head that said, “Why are they mailing it and not telling me over the phone?”), I googled it. According to the March of Dimes website, 1 in 29 Caucasians carry the CF gene. What could it mean if I’m 1 in 29? The only way to have a child with CF is if both parents carry the CF gene, and the chances of this happening are 1 in 800. If both parents carry the CF gene, there is a 25% chance that the child will have cystic fibrosis, a 50% chance they’ll be a carrier, and a 25% chance they neither have CF nor carry the gene.

Today is truly a day of self-discovery!

from me …

I may have figured it out. And while a completely chemical-free solution may be the best answer, this at least avoids the need for prescription medication. After a terrible two days, it was time to try something new. As explained in my post, “we’re on to something,” I found a solution in Dramamine and vitamin B6 + half of a Unisom. It makes for a tolerable sick, and I’m now back to functioning. My overall conclusion, however, is that this part of pregnancy sucks. I only hope it gets better.

On a lighter note, we’re a quarter of the way there today; yay!

I ordered a Bella Band this past weekend and it arrived last night. Folks, I love it already! I’m hoping to not need it for another few weeks, but when I do, I’m ready!

from babycenter …

Your pregnancy: 10 weeks

How your baby’s growing:
Though he’s barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He’s swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they’ll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you’d spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby’s limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby’s forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he’s about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

stats @ 10 weeks:
Your baby, now barely the size of a kumquat, weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. (Length: a little over 1 inch, head to bottom.)

from whattoexpect …

Week 10 of Pregnancy: Baby’s Bones Develop
Your baby’s growth is fast and furious now. He or she is nearly an inch and a half long and the size of a prune, but not nearly as shriveled (even with all the time it spends in water). In fact, your baby is really taking a human shape now. Bones and cartilage are forming, and small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. The arms (complete with elbows) can flex already, but don’t run to the store for a baseball bat just yet. Though your baby’s arms are taking shape and getting stronger, each one is only about the size of this number 1.

The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, heralding the arrival of your baby’s little choppers, which are forming under the gums. (Those pearly whites won’t break through the gums until your baby is close to six months old). Other systems are go, too. Your baby’s stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if your baby’s a boy, he’s already producing testosterone (yikes!).

Well, we may finally be on to something, friends. Tuesday was a desperate day. I was feeling horrible and had a full day of work, a midterm and a 3 1/2 hour lab; I didn’t think I could make it. After scouring through my mega-packet of information, I found two more possible solutions. The first, Dramamine. Second, vitamin B6 and half of a Unisom.

On my way to class, I stopped at CVS and got everything I needed. I took the Dramamine before class, and while I wasn’t 100%, I could function. I continued taking it through Wednesday night and was fairly pleased with the results. The only thing about the Dramamine is that it leaves me with a huge knot in my stomach. It’s a tolerable knot, but a knot nonetheless. For once, though, eating was a pleasure. I had almost an entire shrimp cobb salad for dinner on Wednesday night, and that alone was incredible progress!

At the same time, though, there’s the knot. So … why not try the B6 & 1/2 Unisom and see what happens, right? Folks, this is it. While I’m a bit tired and foggy all day, I feel pretty good! No knot in my stomach! I’m still lacking in the energy department, but am feeling a-okay!

Now, let’s hope it’s for real and not a fluke! I can deal with this! I don’t want to be taking “chemicals,” but seriously, I couldn’t function.

If I could only get rid of this nasty taste in my mouth … oh well. I’m feeling good! Yippee!

P.S. – Vote here, please! Boy or girl? Weight? Length? Give me some sort of entertainment in my day!

I know, I’ve been seriously slacking here. Feeling like I do, you really shouldn’t blame me. I’m flippin’ miserable. I had an okay day on Friday, maybe a C+. Saturday rocked; as an B+ to A- day, I could not complain at all! Yesterday had me headed back into B- territory, but luckily enough, I got a lot done around the house. Today, however, is a solid D+. I’m so terribly nauseous; I just want to cry. I’ve had enough. Unfortunately, my hoping and praying didn’t work and I’m right back to this awful feeling.

I owe about 10 people return phone calls and e-mails, and I’m sorry I’m slow. Talking sometimes makes me feel more sick, and as far as e-mail is concerned, the bare minimum is about all I can crank out on a day like today. When the good days come, I enjoy them to the fullest.

I know there are people with much worse problems than my “all day sickness,” so I’m going to stop now. All that’s left to say is, “For the love of Pete, please make it stop!!!”

For the record, I’ve tried just about everything … ginger snaps, ginger ale, eating constantly, prenatals at night, crackers before getting out of bed, saltines throughout the day, Sea-Bands, vitamin B6, Tums, carbonation, lots of water, Coke, Jolly Ranchers, peppermints, hot tea … I can’t even remember everything. I think I’d probably stand on my head if someone told me that would work. (Now don’t go getting any ideas …)